Optimizing the passage of fast ferry navigation at the Schellingwoude lock complex

Traditionally, water based public transport has a large contribution to the accessibility of rural areas in the Netherlands. Initiated by the industrial revolution a major shift from water based to land based public transport occurred. Until recent history water based public transport was considered unfeasible. Nowadays land based transport modes are threatened by their own success. The shortage of land available for land based public transport in rural areas creates congestion on highways and endangers the accessibility of many city centres. City centres which adopted their metropolitan status due to their location near the waterfront. This fact gives rise to investigate the feasibility of water based public transport in existing city centres and areas to be developed. The expansion of Almere, being part of the Amsterdam metropolitan region, outside the existing flood defence system in lake Markermeer is a strong example showing a large potential on accessibility by means of fast ferry navigation. An integral planning of water and land based infrastructure serving commuter related passenger transport, among other success factors, increases the success of tackling bottlenecks in the existing hydraulic infrastructure. For the water based public transport connection between Amsterdam Central Station and Almere the passage of the Schellingwoude lock complex is considered to be the most significant bottleneck causing previous attempts of shipping companies on this route to fail due to a lack of feasibility. Contradictory functional demands present at this lock complex in combination with the large yearly volume of commercial and recreational navigation passing this lock complex during the normative month (August) causes the lock operation process to involve an average passage time of fast ferry navigation outside the target conditions associated with water based public transport. In order to optimize the passage of fast ferry navigation at the Schellingwoude lock complex the feasibility of multiple lock system alternatives is investigated, being: - Alternative 1a – Priority arrangement; - Alternative 1b – Priority arrangement and separate locking method; - Alternative 2a – Reservation of one lock chamber; - Alternative 2b – Reservation of two lock chambers; - Alternative 3 – Priority arrangement and reservation of one lock chamber; - Alternative 4a – Additional minimal lock chamber; - Alternative 4b – Additional CEMT-class Vlb lock chamber; - Alternative 5 – Additional innovative structure. The performance criteria determining the feasibility of the proposed lock system alternatives are based on the target conditions associated with water based public transport derived from a travel time analysis on the preferred route between Amsterdam Central Station and Almere. The actual performance analysis is elaborated using the SIVAK2 simulation model. From the performance analysis it is concluded that reservation of one lock chamber (Alternative 2a) and the construction of an additional lock chamber with minimal dimensions serving fast ferry navigation (Alternative 4a) are the best performing alternatives. Both alternatives lead to an average passage time of fast ferry navigation within the target conditions associated with fast ferry navigation and within the prescribed target conditions applied for commercial and recreational navigation. The best performing alternatives are further investigated using a social cost-benefit analysis. This analysis shows that alternative 4a involves the least costs associated with direct effects compared to alternative 2a during a life span of 100 years. This is mainly due to the effect of large financial consequences of additional waiting time of commercial and recreational navigation passing the Schellingwoude lock complex.Ports and WaterwaysHydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience